If "Napoleon Dynamite" was a success - and it was, at least commercially - it marked the arrival of a singular new filmmaker with a touch and stylistic tenor dramatically definitive of an up-and-coming generation's collective mood. Now director Jared Hess returns with his sophomore effort "Nacho Libre," and proves once again the viability of his distinctive style, both of humor and of storytelling. And though some purists may still downplay his form as lowly and inane, "Nacho Libre" is inventive, engaging, lovable and, of course, downright hilarious.

Owing to Hess's affinity for a leading man that wouldn't lead any other film, "Nacho Libre" centers on a friar at a Mexican orphanage named Ignacio (Jack Black, "King Kong") who moonlights as a masked luchador wrestler named Nacho. Lucha is Ignacio's passion, and his winnings help him buy fresh ingredients with nutrients to make delectable meals for all the orphans. But he soon learns that his fascination with his fame is unbecoming of a priest-in-training. Nacho faces the choice of fame or fealty and overcomes the boundaries of both to become a hero truly worthy of his beloved stretchy pants.

The power of a film like "Nacho Libre" - which aims to delight good-heartedly - lies in its characters. And they're all charming here. Nacho is an underdog worth rooting for even before he utters a word; he exudes the qualities of a man who has dreamt of rising above himself since the day he could think, something we can all applaud. Then there is his wrestling partner Esqueleto (newcomer Hector Jimenez), originally a thief who Nacho convinces to fight to gain respect. Esqueleto is the perfect partner in crime for Nacho, not least of all because he cushions the movie's various punchlines so effortlessly.

The humor of "Nacho" is in the same vein as "Dynamite" in the sense that it's not what's said that's funny, but how it's said. As such, it takes some familiarity with that particular mode of speech to find humor in Nacho simply pronouncing "anyways." This is probably why many critics will deride this form of humor, calling it shoddy, menial or downright stupid, but in fact, it's simply something they can't relate to. But for the generation whose ear has heard these words and expressions on playgrounds and in school cafeterias, "Nacho" is a satire no less accomplished than "Seinfeld"; it too delivers on the "moments that happen in between the moments everyone remembers."

And on the note of inanity, we come to the final sweeping accomplishment of Hess's humor - it is built on its character's feelings of inanity. Much like "Dynamite" capitalized on the feeling of hopelessness and entrapment that its protagonist suffered from, "Nacho" too is the story of an ordinary man who feels stifled and wants to become something more. But unlike other stories where the hero must clean himself up and change who he is to gain respect, "Nacho" once again says that the average person can be a hero without having to change himself. Nacho wins respect as a wrestler and within his orphanage because he works to get everyone to recognize who he is and how special he is.

And in a nation, time and medium where even underdog stories tell us we must become something else to achieve greatness, Hess and his unbridled screen heroes foster an uplifting realization.

Rating: Three and a half out of five stars

Nacho Libre
At the Showcase and Quality 16
Paramount